Abstract: The Ansis Pommers Papers contain materials pertaining to the history of the Latvian emigration after World War II, from the
experience of Latvians in Displaced Persons camps in Germany immediately after the war to their subsequent lives as immigrants
in the United States, Canada and other countries. In particular, the collection has numerous publications that reflect the
efforts of Latvian Americans to sustain their culture through various community based institutions and publications.

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives

Languages:
English, with some
Latvianmaterials

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research. Use copies of all sound recordings in the collection are available for immediate access.

The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to
copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives
at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see
or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 2007, with subsequent increments

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog Socrates at
http://library.stanford.edu/webcat . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in Socrates is larger than the number of boxes
listed in this finding aid.

Biographical Note

1935

Born, Rīga, Latvia

1945-1949

Lives with family in the Displaced Persons camp in Fischbach, Germany

1950

Emigrates with family to the United States

1955

Awarded A.A. degree, Sierra Community College

1966

Awarded B.S. degree, Sacramento State College

1966-1992

Works as an engineer for Link Flight Simulation Systems

1970

Awarded M.S. degree, Santa Clara University

1992

Starts own technical writing business

2007

Publishes
Fis̆bachas virs̆os 1945-1950

Scope and Content of Collection

The Ansis Pommers Papers contain materials pertaining to the history of the Latvian emigration after World War II, from the
experience of Latvians in Displaced Persons camps in Germany immediately after the war to their subsequent lives as immigrants
in the United States, Canada, and other countries. In particular, the collection has numerous publications that reflect the
efforts of Latvian Americans to sustain their culture through various community based institutions and publications.

The two
edited works by Pommers in the papers describe the lives of Latvians in the Displaced Persons camp in Fischbach, Germany, where Pommers
and his family were among the camp residents. The first of these works,
Fis̆bachas virs̆os 1945-1950, provides a comprehensive account of life in Fischbach, including the numerous cultural activities that took place in the
camp. The work describes the educational institutions in the camp, and, in particular, the Kārlis Skalbe elementary school
and high school. The second edited work,
Lāpa 15, describes the final period of the Skalbe schools and includes many short biographies of the schools' graduates, with details
on their later careers in the countries they emigrated to.

The
Printed matter series in the collection contains many serial issues, most of them emanating from Latvian American organizations. These
include numerous issues of the newsletter of the Northern California Latvian Association. There are also many issues of
Jaunā Gaita, the most prominent Latvian cultural journal in North America, as well as all the issues of
Lāpa, published by former Fischbach students. Other serial issues relate to academic life in the Latvian emigration (
Akadēmiska Dzīve), Latvian military history (
Kadets and
Latvju Karavīrs), and a Latvian church in San Francisco (
Zelta Vārtu Vēstis). There are also two journals published by young Latvian Americans in Sacramento, California (
Dzirksts and
Sakramento Latvies̆u Jaunatne). In addition, this series contains copies of programs for various Latvian song festivals and theatre productions.

The
Organizations file series includes minutes of meetings and other records of the Baltic Alliance of Northern California, a group whose members
advocated for the independence of the three Baltic States during the period immediately prior to the collapse of the Soviet
Union. The collection also contains a
recording of an extensive interview with Pommers in which he describes his own formative experiences, his participation in Latvian-American
community life, and recounts some of the political controversies that divided Latvian Americans during the Cold War.

Contains monograph, pamphlets, programs, and serial issues, arranged by physical form and alphabetically by title thereunder

Box/Folder: 3 : 1

Monograph, Valmieras kājnieku pulka vēsture,1929

Box/Folder: 3 : 2

Pamphlets, 1975-2003

Box/Folder: 3

Programs for Latvian song festivals and theatre productions,1946-2008

Box/Folder: 3 : 3

1946-1948

Box/Folder: 3 : 4

1965

Box/Folder: 3 : 5

1972

Box/Folder: 3 : 6

1979

Box/Folder: 3 : 7

2003

Box/Folder: 3 : 8

2006

Box/Folder: 3 : 9-10

2008

Box/Folder: 3-19

Serial issues, 1955-2012

Box/Folder: 3-4

Akadēmiska Dzīve, 1959-1963

Box/Folder: 3 : 11

1959

Box/Folder: 3 : 12

1962

Box/Folder: 4 : 1

1963

Box/Folder: 4 : 2

Baltic Bulletin,2008 September

Box/Folder: 4 : 3

Brīvība, 1972-1988

Box/Folder: 4 : 4

Bulletin of Baltic Studies, 1970 December

Box/Folder: 4 : 5

Drauga Vēsts, 1945 October/November

Box/Folder: 4 : 6

Dzirksts, 1960

Box/Folder: 4-10

Jaunā Gaita, 1955-2012

Box/Folder: 4 : 7

Nos. 1-2, 1955

Box/Folder: 4 : 8

Nos. 3-6, 1956

Box/Folder: 4 : 9

Nos. 7-8 and 11-12, 1957

Box/Folder: 4 : 10

Nos. 13-18, 1958

Box/Folder: 4 : 11

Nos. 19-24, 1959

Box/Folder: 4 : 12

Nos. 25-27, 1960

Box/Folder: 4 : 13

Nos. 28-33, 1961

Box/Folder: 4 : 14

Nos. 34-39, 1962

Box/Folder: 4 : 15

Nos. 40-44, 1963

Box/Folder: 5 : 1

Nos. 45/46-50, 1964

Box/Folder: 5 : 2

Nos. 51-56, 1965

Box/Folder: 5 : 3

Nos. 57-60, 1966

Box/Folder: 5 : 4

Nos. 61-66, 1967

Box/Folder: 5 : 5

Nos. 67-71, 1968

Box/Folder: 5 : 6

Nos. 72-76, 1969

Box/Folder: 5 : 7

Nos. 77-81, 1970

Box/Folder: 5 : 8

Nos. 82 and 84-86, 1971

Box/Folder: 6 : 1

Nos. 87-91, 1972

Box/Folder: 6 : 2

Nos. 92-96, 1973

Box/Folder: 6 : 3

Nos. 97-101, 1974

Box/Folder: 6 : 4

Nos. 102-106, 1975

Box/Folder: 6 : 5

Nos. 107-111, 1976

Box/Folder: 6 : 6

Nos. 112-116, 1977

Box/Folder: 6 : 7

Nos. 117-121, 1978

Box/Folder: 7 : 1

Nos. 122-126, 1979

Box/Folder: 7 : 2

Nos. 127-131, 1980

Box/Folder: 7 : 3

Nos. 132-136, 1981

Box/Folder: 7 : 4

Nos. 137-141, 1982

Box/Folder: 7 : 5

Nos. 142-146, 1983

Box/Folder: 7 : 6

Nos. 147-150, 1984

Box/Folder: 7 : 7

Nos. 151-155, 1985

Box/Folder: 8 : 1

Nos. 156-160, 1986

Box/Folder: 8 : 2

Nos. 161-165, 1987

Box/Folder: 8 : 3

Nos. 166-170, 1988

Box/Folder: 8 : 4

Nos. 171-175, 1989

Box/Folder: 8 : 5

Nos. 176-180, 1990

Box/Folder: 8 : 6

Nos. 181-185, 1991

Box/Folder: 8 : 7

Nos. 186-190, 1992

Box/Folder: 9 : 1

Nos. 212-215, 1998

Box/Folder: 9 : 2

Nos. 216 and 218-219, 1999

Box/Folder: 9 : 3

Nos. 220-223, 2000

Box/Folder: 9 : 4

Nos. 224-227, 2001

Box/Folder: 9 : 5

Nos. 228-231, 2002

Box/Folder: 9 : 6

Nos. 232-235, 2003

Box/Folder: 9 : 7

Nos. 236-239, 2004

Box/Folder: 9 : 8

Nos. 240-243, 2005

Box/Folder: 10 : 1

Nos. 224-245, 2006

Box/Folder: 10 : 2

5 CD-ROMS containing digital files of selected articles from
Jaunā Gaita, 1955-2006, and an annotated list of the articles,
2012

Box/Folder: 10

Kadets, 1969-1993

Box/Folder: 10 : 3

Nos. 2 and 5-7, 1969-1978

Box/Folder: 10 : 4

Nos. 8-11, 1979-1982

Box/Folder: 10 : 5

Nos. 12-15, 1983-1987

Box/Folder: 10 : 6

Nos. 16-20, 1989-1993

Box/Folder: 10 : 7

Laika Griežos, no. 68,
1946

Box/Folder: 10-11

Lāpa,1946-1986

Box/Folder: 10 : 8

Nos. 1-3 and 5-12, 1946-1947

Box/Folder: 10 : 9

Bulletins, 1966

Box/Folder: 10 : 10

Nos. 4-7 (new series), 1967-1970

Box/Folder: 10 : 11

Bulletins, 1970

Box/Folder: 10 : 12

Nos. 8-10, 1971-1973

Box/Folder: 11 : 1

Nos. 11-12, 1980-1982

Box/Folder: 11 : 2

Nos. 13-14, 1983-1986

Box/Folder: 11 : 3

Latvian Dimensions, volume 17, no. 1,
2008

Box/Folder: 11

Latvju Karavīrs, 1979-1986

Box/Folder: 11 : 4

No. 1, 1979

Box/Folder: 11 : 5

No. 2, 1980

Box/Folder: 11 : 6

No. 3, 1986

Box/Folder: 11

Sakramento Latvies˨u Jaunatne,1956-1957

Box/Folder: 11 : 7

1956

Box/Folder: 11 : 8

1957

Box/Folder: 11

Tilts, 1956-1973

Box/Folder: 11 : 9

Nos. 17 and 19, 1956-1957

Box/Folder: 11 : 10

Nos. 100/101 and 138/139, 1970-1973

Box/Folder: 11-12

Zelta Vārtu Vēstis, 1954-1979

Box/Folder: 11 : 11

1954 January and April/May

Box/Folder: 11 : 12

1955 January/February and May

Box/Folder: 11 : 13

1956 February and November-December

Box/Folder: 11 : 14

1958 May-October

Box/Folder: 11 : 15

1961 January/February and October

Box/Folder: 11 : 16

1969 November

Box/Folder: 11 : 17

1970 April

Box/Folder: 11 : 18

1972 January

Box/Folder: 12 : 1

1976 February-March and June

Box/Folder: 12 : 2

1977 February

Box/Folder: 12 : 3

1979 April

Box/Folder: 12-19

Zielmelkalifornijas Apskats, 1959-2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 4

Annotated list of issues, 2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 5

1959 September-December2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 6

1960 January-December2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 7

1961 January-December2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 8

1962 January/February-December2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 9

1963 January-November2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 10

1964 January-September and November-December2010

Box/Folder: 12 : 11

1965 January and April-December2010

Box/Folder: 13

1966

Box/Folder: 13 : 1

January-June

Box/Folder: 13 : 2

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 13

1967

Box/Folder: 13 : 3

January-June

Box/Folder: 13 : 4

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 13

1968

Box/Folder: 13 : 5

January-June

Box/Folder: 13 : 6

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 13

1969

Box/Folder: 13 : 7

January-June

Box/Folder: 13 : 8

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 13

1970

Box/Folder: 13 : 9

January-June

Box/Folder: 13 : 10

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 14

1971

Box/Folder: 14 : 1

January-June

Box/Folder: 14 : 2

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 14

1972

Box/Folder: 14 : 3

January-June

Box/Folder: 14 : 4

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 14

1973

Box/Folder: 14 : 5

January-June

Box/Folder: 14 : 6

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 14

1974

Box/Folder: 14 : 7

January-June

Box/Folder: 14 : 8

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 15

1975

Box/Folder: 15 : 1

January-June

Box/Folder: 15 : 2

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 15

1976

Box/Folder: 15 : 3

January-June

Box/Folder: 15 : 4

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 15

1977

Box/Folder: 15 : 5

January-June

Box/Folder: 15 : 6

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 15

1978

Box/Folder: 15 : 7

January-June

Box/Folder: 16 : 1

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 16

1979

Box/Folder: 16 : 2

January-June

Box/Folder: 16 : 3

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 16

1980

Box/Folder: 16 : 4

January-June

Box/Folder: 16 : 5

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 16

1981

Box/Folder: 16 : 6

January-June

Box/Folder: 16 : 7

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 17

1982

Box/Folder: 17 : 1

January-June

Box/Folder: 17 : 2

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 17

1983

Box/Folder: 17 : 3

January-June

Box/Folder: 17 : 4

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 17

1984

Box/Folder: 17 : 5

January-June

Box/Folder: 17 : 6

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 17

1985

Box/Folder: 17 : 7

January-June

Box/Folder: 17 : 8

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 18

1986

Box/Folder: 18 : 1

January-June

Box/Folder: 18 : 2

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 18

1987

Box/Folder: 18 : 3

January-June

Box/Folder: 18 : 4

September-December

Box/Folder: 18

1988

Box/Folder: 18 : 5

January-June

Box/Folder: 18 : 6

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 18

1989

Box/Folder: 18 : 7

January-June

Box/Folder: 18 : 8

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 19

1990

Box/Folder: 19 : 1

January-June

Box/Folder: 19 : 2

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 19

1991

Box/Folder: 19 : 3

January-June

Box/Folder: 19 : 4

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 19

1992

Box/Folder: 19 : 5

January-June

Box/Folder: 19 : 6

July/August-December

Box/Folder: 19 : 7

1993 March and July/August

Box/Folder: 19 : 8

1997 April-May and June/July

Box: 19

Sound recording 2008

Box/Folder: 19 : 9

Interview of Ansis Pommers by David Jacobs 2008 July 17

Access Information

Use copy reference number: 2007c6_a_0001485

Scope and Content Note

One compact disc containing an interview of Ansis Pommers by David Jacobs, Hoover Institution Archives staff member. Part
of the oral history project: The Latvian Emigration in California. In English. Duration 52:33. One compact disc.